Production apparatus of skin-fitted foam molding member, production method of skin-fitted foam molding member, and skin-fitted foam molding member

ABSTRACT

A skin-fitted foam molding member includes a core material, a skin having a roll portion, and a foam body filled between an internal surface of the core material and an internal surface of the skin. A seal portion is formed by welding an external surface of an end portion of the core material with the roll portion which faces the external surface of the end portion of the core material. The skin has a rib portion which is so formed as to protrude from the internal surface of the skin toward the core material and which faces an internal surface of the end portion of the core material, where the rib portion forms an inward seal portion by sandwiching the end portion of the core material between the roll portion and the rib portion by a foaming pressure of the foam.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 13/132,445 filed on Jun. 2,2011, which is a national stage application of International ApplicationNo. PCT/JP2009/067997 filed on Oct. 19, 2009, which is based upon andclaims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2008-309028 filed on Dec. 3, 2008, the entire contents of all areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a production apparatus of a skin-fittedfoam molding member, a production method of the skin-fitted foam moldingmember, and the skin-fitted foam molding member.

BACKGROUND ART

With respect to internal components used for vehicles, at home and thelike, skin-fitted foam molding members having three layer structureincluding skin layer—foam body layer—core material layer are used inmany occasions. The skin-fitted foam molding member constitutes a moldedarticle by filling a foam body between a core material and a skin whichare disposed in a forming mold and then integrating them. For preventingthe foam body from leaking from between the skin and the core materialin the production of the skin-fitted foam molding member (refer toPatent Literature 1), a seal portion is formed.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No    2001-145926

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

With respect to the seal portion of the Patent Literature 1, an end faceof an end portion of the core material is exposed to the outside of amolded article. In the case of such seal portion, an external viewquality as a molded article is degraded unless the seal portion isdisposed in a hidden position which is not visible from a user who usesthe molded article. Thus, restriction of the position for forming theseal portion, as the case may be, limits freedom of the shape as amolded article.

The present invention relates to a production technology of askin-fitted foam molding member having a 3-layer structure including acore material, a skin and a foam body. It is an object of the presentinvention to provide a production apparatus and a production method ofthe skin-fitted foam molding member provided with a seal portion whichdoes not degrade an external view quality. Moreover, it is anotherobject of the present invention to provide the skin-fitted foam moldingmember provided with the seal portion which does not degrade theexternal view quality.

Solution to Problem

The present invention relates to a production apparatus of a skin-fittedfoam molding member, including: a first mold having a mold face, anexternal surface of a core material being so disposed as to face themold face of the first mold; a second mold having a mold face and sodisposed as to open and close relative to the first mold, an externalsurface of a skin which has a roll portion bendably formed being sodisposed as to face the mold face of the second mold; a bender forbending, in a state that the first mold and the second mold are closed,the roll portion to allow the roll portion to face an external surfaceof an end portion of the core material; a welder for forming a sealportion which prevents a leak of a foam body filled between an internalsurface of the core material and an internal surface of the skin, thepreventing operation of the leak of the foam body being implemented bywelding the end portion of the core material with the roll portion; anda filler for filling the foam body to between the internal surface ofthe core material and the internal surface of the skin, wherein the skinhas a rib portion which is so formed as to protrude from the internalsurface of the skin toward the core material and which faces an internalsurface of the end portion of the core material, and the rib portionforms an inward seal portion by sandwiching the end portion of the corematerial between the roll portion and the rib portion by dint of afoaming pressure of the foam body.

Moreover, the present invention relates to a method of producing askin-fitted foam molding member, the method including: disposing, in astate that a first mold and a second mold which open and close relativeto each other are opened, an external surface of a core material suchthat the external surface of the core material faces a mold face of thefirst mold; disposing an external surface of a skin having a rollportion bendably formed such that the external surface of the skin facesa mold face of the second mold; closing the first mold and the secondmold; bending the roll portion such that the roll portion faces anexternal surface of an end portion of the core material; forming a sealportion which prevents a leak of a foam body filled between an internalsurface of the core material and an internal surface of the skin, thepreventing operation of the leak of the foam body being implemented bywelding the end portion of the core material with the roll portion; andfilling the foam body to between the internal surface of the corematerial and the internal surface of the skin, wherein the methodfurther comprising: disposing, when the first mold and the second moldare closed, a rib portion so formed as to protrude from the internalsurface of the skin toward the core material such that the rib portionfaces an internal surface of the end portion of the core material, andforming an inward seal portion by sandwiching the end portion of thecore material between the rib portion and the roll portion by dint of afoaming pressure of the foam body.

Moreover, the present invention relates to a skin-fitted foam moldingmember including: a core material; a skin having a roll portion; a foambody filled between an internal surface of the core material and aninternal surface of the skin; and a seal portion which prevents a leakof the foam body, wherein the seal portion is formed by welding anexternal surface of an end portion of the core material with the rollportion which is so bent as to face the external surface of the endportion of the core material, and the skin has a rib portion which is soformed as to protrude from the internal surface of the skin toward thecore material and which faces an internal surface of the end portion ofthe core material, where the rib portion forms an inward seal portion bysandwiching the end portion of the core material between the rollportion and the rib portion by dint of a foaming pressure of the foambody.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

With the production apparatus and production method of the skin-fittedfoam molding member of the present invention, forming the welding sealportion by welding the end portion of the core material with the skin'sroll portion which faces the external surface of the end portion of thecore material can form a seal portion which does not degrade theexternal view quality of the skin-fitted foam molding member, and theskin-fitted foam molding member provided with the seal portion whichdoes not degrade the external view quality can be provided.

Moreover, with the production apparatus and production method of theskin-fitted foam molding member of the present invention, the rollportion of the skin is fixed to the external surface of the corematerial, to thereby improve the external view quality. Moreover, thedouble seal structure of the rib portion and roll portion can improvesealability against leak of the foam body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view for simply showing a productionapparatus of a skin-fitted foam molding member, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a structure of the production apparatustogether with a first mold.

FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B) are cross sectional views for explaining amethod of molding a skin.

FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B) are cross sectional views for explaining amethod of molding the skin.

FIG. 5(A) and FIG. 5(B) are cross sectional views (with a seal portionshown enlarged) for explaining a method of producing a skin-fitted foammolding member, according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B) are cross sectional views (with the seal portionshown enlarged) for explaining the method of producing a skin-fittedfoam molding member, according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an external view of the skin-fitted foam molding member.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention is to be set forthreferring to drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view simply showing a production apparatus100 of a skin-fitted foam molding member according to the embodiment ofthe present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure ofthe production apparatus 100 together with a lower mold 112, FIG. 3(A),FIG. 3(B), FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B) are cross sectional views forexplaining a method of molding a skin 150, FIG. 5(A), FIG. 5(B), FIG.6(A) and FIG. 6(B) are cross sectional views (with a welding sealportion 200 shown enlarged) for explaining a method of producing askin-fitted foam molding member 300 according to the embodiment, andFIG. 7 is an external view of the skin-fitted foam molding member 300.

Structure

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the structure of the productionapparatus 100 of the skin-fitted foam molding member 300 (refer toafter-described FIG. 7) is to be set forth.

To give an outline, a production apparatus of a skin-fitted foam moldingmember, includes: an upper mold (corresponding to a first mold) having amold face, an external surface of a core material being so disposed asto face the mold face of the upper mold; a lower mold (corresponding toa second mold) having a mold face and so disposed as to open and closerelative to the upper mold, an external surface of a skin having a rollportion bendably formed being so disposed as to face the mold face ofthe lower mold; a bender for bending, in a state that the upper mold andthe lower mold are closed, the roll portion to allow the roll portion toface an external surface of an end portion of the core material; awelder for forming a welding seal portion (corresponding to a sealportion) which prevents a leak of a foam body filled between an internalsurface of the core material and an internal surface of the skin, thepreventing operation of the leak of the foam body being implemented bywelding the end portion of the core material with the roll portion; anda filler for filling the foam body to between the internal surface ofthe core material and the internal surface of the skin, wherein the skinhas a rib portion which is so formed as to protrude from the internalsurface of the skin toward the core material and which faces an internalsurface of the end portion of the core material, and the rib portionforms an inward seal portion by sandwiching the end portion of the corematerial between the roll portion and the rib portion by dint of afoaming pressure of the foam body.

According to the embodiment, the production apparatus 100 of theskin-fitted foam molding member of the present invention is applied toan injection molder which implements molding by injecting a foam body180 to between a core material 140 and a skin 150 which are disposed ina forming mold 110. As the skin-fitted foam molding member 300, avehicular internal component having a 3-layer structure of skin 150—foambody 180—core material 140 is molded (refer to FIG. 7). Hereinafter, theembodiment is to be set forth in detail.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the production apparatus 100 of theskin-fitted foam molding member has the forming mold 110 including anupper mold 111 and a lower mold 112. The upper mold 111 has a mold face115 which conforms to the shape of an external surface 142 of the corematerial 140, while the lower mold 112 has a mold face 116 whichconforms to the shape of an external surface 152 of the skin 150.Between an internal surface 141 of the core material 140 and an internalsurface 151 of the skin 150, a filling space 170 for filling a foam body180 is formed by closing the upper mold 111 and the lower mold 112.

A receiver space 220 for receiving a welder 130 and a bender 120 isformed between the upper mold 111 and the lower mold 112. Integratingthe welder 130 with the bender 120 by connecting the two members 130,120 and disposing the welder 130 and the bender 120 in the receiverspace 220 miniaturize the production apparatus 100. In FIG. 1 and FIG.2, the welder 130 and the bender 120 are disposed on the lower mold 112in the receiver space 220.

The skin 150 has a rib portion 156 so formed as to protrude from theinternal surface 151 toward the core material 140. The rib portion 156is so disposed as to face an internal surface 146 of an end portion 145of the core material 140. Between the rib portion 156 and a roll portion155, the end portion 145 of the core material 140 is sandwiched by dintof a foaming pressure of the foam body 180, to thereby allow the ribportion 156 to form an inward seal portion 210 {refer to FIG. 6(B)}. Theinward seal portion 210 prevents the foam body 180 from leaking out ofthe inside of the filling space 170.

Through the injection molding, the roll portion 155 and the rib portion156 are formed in advance at the skin 150 {refer to FIG. 3(A), FIG.3(B), FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B)}. In the examples in the above drawings,the roll portion 155 and the rib portion 156 are formed at the skin150's end portion on a side for forming the welding seal portion 200.

A position P at which the end portion 145 of the core material 140 abutson the skin 150 is defined as a base point. At the position P, the rollportion 155 of the skin 150 is bent. An end face 148 of the end portion145 of the core material 140 is formed in a shape conforming to theshape of the internal surface 151 of the skin 150. This is forpreventing the skin 150 from being uplifted at the position P as thebending base point, and thereby improving sealability {refer to FIG.6(A)}.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bender 120 has a support portion 121 forsupporting the roll portion 155 and a driving portion 124 for moving thesupport portion 121 forward and backward relative to an external surface147. The bender 120 further has a slide base 122 which is so formed asto move forward and backward relative to the forming mold 110. The slidebase 122 connects the support portion 121 with the driving portion 124.

The driving portion 124 reciprocates a rod 125 to thereby move the slidebase 122 forward and backward. According to the forward-backwardmovement of the slide base 122, the support portion 121 and the welder130 which is coupled with the slide base 122 move forward and backwardrelative to the external surface 147. One driving portion 124 can movethe bender 120 and welder 130 forward and backward, so that the facilityinvestment cost can be reduced. In FIG. 2, an ordinary fluid pressurecylinder fitted with a reciprocating mechanism is used for the drivingportion 124.

According to the forward movement of the slide base 122, the supportportion 121 pushes the roll portion 155 to the external surface 147.This pushing operation bends the roll portion 155 with the position P(on which the end portion 145 of the core material 140 abuts) as a basepoint. The thus bent roll portion 155 is bought into such a state as toabut on and face the external surface 147 {refer to FIG. 6(A)}.

The slide base 122 is provided with a snap portion 123 for preventing apushing force from being excessively applied to the end portion 145 ofthe core material 140. A compressive coil is used for the snap portion123.

The shape of the end face of the head end portion of the support portion121 is formed into a curve shape conforming to an external shape of theend portion 145 of the core material 140. This is because forming intothe curve shape can smoothen the operation of bending the roll portion155 and can prevent the roll portion 155 from being uplifted from theexternal surface 147 {refer to FIG. 6(A)}.

Referring to FIG. 2, the welder 130 has an arm portion 131 mounted to aslide piece 133 connected to the slide base 122, and a horn portion 132for welding the end portion 145 (of the core material 140) with the rollportion 155 (of the skin 150) by applying a vibration from a head end.The horn portion 132 is formed into a rectangle shape corresponding tothe shape of the welding seal portion 200 and a welding range.

The horn portion 132 applies the vibration (caused by a vibrationgenerator 134) to the roll portion 155 and heats the roll portion 155.The thus heated roll portion 155 melts. The thus melted roll portion 155is cooled, to thereby welding-fix the roll portion 155 to the externalsurface 147 by welding {refer to FIG. 6(A)}.

A filler 160 is provided with a holding portion 161 for holding the foambody 180 and a nozzle portion 162 for filling the foam body 180 in thefilling space 170. Through a gate portion formed at the lower mold 112,the filler 160 injects the foam body 180 into the filling space 170. Anordinary injector for injecting a mold material is used for the filler160.

Molding Method

Next, a method of molding the skin 150 having the roll portion 155 andthe rib portion 156 is to be set forth.

Referring to FIG. 3(A), a special forming mold 400 for molding the skin150 has a cavity mold 410 and a core mold 420. At first, the cavity mold410 and the core mold 420 are closed.

Referring to FIG. 3(B), closing the core mold 420 forms a cavity 440(shaped along the shapes of the roll portion 155 and the rib portion156) in the special forming mold 400. A melted resin material 430 isflowed into the cavity 440.

Referring to FIG. 4(A), after the resin material 430 is cooled, thespecial forming mold 400 is opened.

Referring to FIG. 4(B), the skin 150 is taken out. Use of the specialforming mold 400 can form the skin 150 which has a body portion 158, andthe roll portion 155 and the rib portion 156 which are each formed to bebranching from the body portion 158. The roll portion 155 and the ribportion 156 are formed bendably with a bending portion 157 as a basepoint. As set forth above, welding-fixing the roll portion 155 to theend portion 145 of the core material 140 forms the welding seal portion200. Sandwiching the end portion 145 of the core material 140 betweenthe rib portion 156 and the roll portion 155 allows the rib portion 156to form the inward seal portion 210 {refer to FIG. 6(B)}. Use of thespecial forming mold 400 can form the body portion 158 having athickness, for example, about 1 mm.

Production Method

Next, a method of producing the skin-fitted foam molding member 300 isto be set forth.

Process of Disposing Core Material 140

Referring to FIG. 5(A), as a state of the forming mold 110 opened, theexternal surface 142 of the core material 140 is so disposed as to facethe mold face 115 of the upper mold 111.

Process of Disposing Skin 150

Meanwhile, the external surface 152 of the skin 150 is so disposed as toface the mold face 116 of the lower mold 112.

While the roll portion 155 and the rib portion 156 are prevented fromfalling toward the mold face 116 side, the roll portion 155 is sodisposed as to rise from the lower mold 112 toward the upper mold 111.The rib portion 156 is inclined relative to the roll portion 155 and isso disposed as to face the internal surface 141 of the core material140.

Process of Closing Forming Mold 110

Referring to FIG. 5(B), the upper mold 111 and lower mold 112 areclosed, to thereby form the filling space 170 for filling the foam body180 between the internal surface 141 of the core material 140 and theinternal surface 151 of the skin 150.

When the forming mold 110 is to be closed, the rib portion 156 is sodisposed as to face the internal surface 146. This is for forming theinward seal portion 210 by sandwiching the end portion 145 of the corematerial 140 between the rib portion 156 and the roll portion 155 bydint of the foaming pressure of the foam body 180 {refer to FIG. 6(B)}.

Since the end face 148 is formed in a shape conforming to the shape ofthe internal surface 151 of the skin 150, the skin 150 can be preventedfrom being uplifted at the position P as the bending base point. Thewelder 130 and the bender 120 are received and disposed in the receiverspace 220 formed between the upper mold 111 and the lower mold 112.

Process of Bending Roll Portion 155

Referring to FIG. 6(A), the roll portion 155 is bent to allow the rollportion 155 to face the external surface 147.

Referring to FIG. 2, the driving portion 124 moves the slide piece 133forward via the rod 125. According to the forward movement of the slidepiece 133, the support portion 121 moves forward. The support portion121 pushes the roll portion 155 to the external surface 147. With theposition P on which the end portion 145 of the core material 140 abutsas a base point, the above pushing operation bends the roll portion 155.

The thus bent roll portion 155 faces to and abuts on the externalsurface 147. The simple forward movement of the support portion 121 canbend the roll portion 155 to simplify the bending operation of the rollportion 155.

In conjunction with the movement of the support portion 121, the welder130 moves toward the end portion 145 of the core material 140. The hornportion 132 of the welder 130 is disposed around the position where theend portion 145 of the core material 140 abuts on the roll portion 155.

Welding Process

Welding the end portion 145 of the core material 140 with the rollportion 155 which is disposed to face the external surface 147 forms thewelding seal portion 200.

The welder 130 heats the roll portion 155, to thereby weld and fix theroll portion 155 to the external surface 147. The thus welded and fixedportion functions as the welding seal portion 200.

Covering the end face 148 with the roll portion 155 can form the weldingseal portion 200, to thereby prevent the end face 148 from being exposedoutside. Thus, the welding seal portion 200 which does not degrade anexternal view quality as a molded article can be formed.

Filling Process

Referring to FIG. 6(B), the foam body 180 is filled into the fillingspace 170 formed between the internal surface 141 of the core material140 and the internal surface 151 of the skin 150.

The foam body 180 is foamed in the filling space 170, and graduallyfills the filling space 170.

The welding seal portion 200 prevents the foam body 180 from leakingfrom the outside of the filling space 170. Meanwhile, the rib portion156 forms the inward seal portion 210 by sandwiching the end portion 145of the core material 140 between the roll portion 155 and the ribportion 156 by dint of the foaming pressure of the foam body 180.

The inward seal portion 210 prevents the foam body 180 from leaking outof the inside of the filling space 170. Therefore, leak of the foam body180 from the filling space 170 can be further prevented.

The driving portion 124 (FIG. 2) moves the bender 120 and the welder 130backward and then opens the forming mold 110, to thereby take out theskin-fitted foam molding member 300 which is an integration of the corematerial 140, the skin 150 and the foam body 180. The skin-fitted foammolding member 300 in which the welding seal portion 200 and the inwardseal portion 210 prevent the foam body 180 from leaking and the externalview quality as a molded article is prevented from being degraded can beformed.

In the process of the production operation of the skin-fitted foammolding member 300, the roll portion 155 formed at the skin 150 inadvance is welded-fixed to the end portion 145 of the core material 140,to thereby form the welding seal portion 200.

Use of the bender 130 and the welder 120 can form the welding sealportion 200 through a simple operation of welding-fixing the rollportion 155 by bending the roll portion 155. It is not necessary toperform the operation of forming the welding seal portion 200 separatelyfrom the operation of producing the skin-fitted foam molding member 300,thus lowering of the efficiency of the production operation of theskin-fitted foam molding member 300 can be prevented.

Referring to FIG. 7, the thus molded skin-fitted foam molding member 300is applicable to automobile internal components. The skin-fitted foammolding member 300 in FIG. 7 is a structural member of a glovecompartment installed in the vehicle. The welding seal portion 200prevents the end face 148 from being exposed outside, thus preventingdegrading of the glove compartment's design as a product.

Herein, characteristics of the skin-fitted foam molding member 300 as aproduct are to be set forth.

Referring to FIG. 4(A), FIG. 4(B), FIG. 5(A), FIG. 5(B), FIG. 6(A) andFIG. 6(B), the roll portion 155 is longer than the rib portion 156. Thelonger the roll portion 155 is, the more easily the roll portion 155 isbent, thus making it easier to weld the roll portion 155 to the corematerial 140. Meanwhile, in an operation of combining the core material140 with the skin 150, the shorter the rib portion 156 is, the moreeasily the rib portion 156 is prevented from being caught by the corematerial 140. The roll portion 155 which is made longer than the ribportion 156 can satisfy the above two.

Referring to FIG. 5(A), FIG. 5(B), FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B), the internalsurface 141 of the end face 148 of the end portion 145 of the corematerial 140 has a protruding slope face. In an operation of combiningthe core material 140 with the skin 150, the protruding slop face worksto more smoothly insert the core material 140 between the roll portion155 of the skin 150 and the rib portion 156 of the skin 150.

Referring to FIG. 5(A), FIG. 5(B), FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B), the weldingseal portion 200 is disposed adjacent to a tip end 155A of the rollportion 155. That is, maximizing the length from the bending base pointP of the roll portion 155 to the welding seal portion 200 can implementan efficient welding with a shorter welding allowance. Moreover, whenthe skin-fitted foam molding member 300 is applied to a door of theglove compartment, the welding seal portion 200 can be disposed in aplace which is less visible.

As set forth above, with respect to the production apparatus 100 of theskin-fitted foam molding member according to the embodiment, welding thecore material 140 with the skin 150's roll portion 155 which faces theexternal surface 147 of the end portion 145 of the core material 140 canform the welding seal portion 200. Covering the end face 148 of the endportion 145 of the core material 140 with the roll portion 155 can formthe welding seal portion 200, to thereby prevent the end face 148 frombeing exposed outside. Thus, the welding seal portion 200 which does notdegrade the external view quality as a molded article can be formed.

Sandwiching the end portion 145 between the rib portion 156 and the rollportion 155 by dint of the foaming pressure of the foam body 180 canform the inward seal portion 210. This can further prevent the leak ofthe foam body 180 out of the filling space 170.

Operating the driving portion 124 moves the support portion 121 forwardand backward. The simple forward movement of the support portion 121 canbend the roll portion 155 such that the roll portion 155 faces theexternal surface 147. Thus, the operation of bending the roll portion155 can be simplified.

The end face 148 of the end portion 145 of the core material 140 isformed in a shape conforming to the shape of the internal surface 151 ofthe skin 150, thus the skin 150 can be prevented from being uplifted atthe position P as a bending base point.

The receiver space 220 for receiving the welder 130 and the bender 120is formed between the upper mold 111 and the lower mold 112. Thus, theproduction apparatus 100 can be miniaturized.

The skin-fitted foam molding member 300 can be provided which has thewelding seal portion 200 formed by welding the external surface 147 withthe roll portion 155 which is so bend as to face the external surface147. The welding seal portion 200 prevents a leak of the foam body 180and thereby forming of the welding seal portion 200 can prevent adegradation of the external view quality as a molded article.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can beproperly modified.

According to the embodiment, the welding seal portion 200 and the inwardseal portion 210 are formed, however, the leak of the foam body 180 maybe prevented only by the welding seal portion 200.

The structure of the production apparatus 100 is not limited to thatdisclosed in the embodiment, otherwise, for example, disposing aplurality of welders 130, disposing a plurality of benders 120 anddisposing the welder 130 and the bender 120 in the upper mold 111 areallowed.

A known welder capable of welding the core material 140 with the skin150 such as a vibration welder and an ultrasonic welder may be properlyselected for the welder 130.

The shapes of the rib portion 156 and the roll portion 155 of the skin150, and the shape of the end portion 145 of the core material 140 arenot limited to those shown in the drawings, and can be properly changedaccording to the shape of a molded face or the shape of a moldedarticle.

The method of forming the skin 150 is not limited to the injectionmolding method using the special forming mold 400, and another moldingmethod capable of forming the rib portion 156 and the roll portion 155at the skin 150 can be adopted.

The position for forming the welding seal portion 200 is not limited tothe portion denoted in the skin-fitted foam molding member 300 accordingto the embodiment. Moreover, the welding seal portions 200 can be formedin a plurality of portions in one skin-fitted foam molding member 300.

The skin-fitted foam molding member 300 is applicable to articles otherthan the automobile internal components shown in the embodiment. Forexample, the skin-fitted foam molding member 300 is applicable tointernal components such as home commodities which require preventingdegrading of a design as a product.

The production apparatus 100 and production method of the skin-fittedfoam molding member according to the embodiment are not used only to theinjection molding and can be widely applied to a molding method and amolding apparatus which have such an object as to provide theskin-fitted foam molding member 300 formed by filling the foam body 180in the space formed between the core material 140 and the skin 150 in astate in which the forming mold 110 is closed and then integrating thecore material 140, the skin 150 and the foam body 180.

The entire contents of the Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-309028(filed on Dec. 3, 2008) are incorporated herein by reference, in orderto take protection against erroneous translations or omitted portions.

The contents of the prevent invention have been set forth according tothe embodiment, however, the present invention is not limited to theabove descriptions. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and improvements are allowed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

With the production apparatus and the production method of theskin-fitted foam molding member of the present invention, welding theend portion of the core material with the skin's roll portion whichfaces the external surface of the end portion of the core material tothereby form the seal portion can form the seal portion which does notdegrade an external view quality of the skin-fitted foam molding member.Moreover, the skin-fitted foam molding member provided with the sealportion which does not degrade an external view quality can be provided.

Moreover, with the production apparatus and the production method of theskin-fitted foam molding member of the present invention, the rollportion of the skin is fixed to the external surface of the corematerial, to thereby improve the external view quality. Moreover, thedouble seal structure of the rib portion and the roll portion canimprove sealability against a leak of the foam body.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A skin-fitted foam molding member,comprising: a core material; a skin having a roll portion; a foam bodyfilled between an internal surface of the core material and an internalsurface of the skin; and a seal portion which prevents a leak of thefoam body, wherein the seal portion is formed by welding an externalsurface of an end portion of the core material with the roll portionwhich is so bent as to face the external surface of the end portion ofthe core material, wherein the skin has a rib portion which is so formedas to protrude from the internal surface of the skin toward the corematerial and which faces an internal surface of the end portion of thecore material, where the rib portion forms an inward seal portion bysandwiching the end portion of the core material between the rollportion and the rib portion by a foaming pressure of the foam body,wherein the seal portion is formed by an end face of the end portion ofthe core material covered with the roll portion on the external surfaceof the end portion of the core material, wherein the roll portion islonger than the rib portion, and wherein the roll portion has a fixedportion fixed to the external surface of the end portion of the corematerial.
 2. The skin-fitted foam molding member according to claim 1,wherein an internal surface of the end face of the end portion of thecore material has a protruding slope face.
 3. The skin-fitted foammolding member according to claim 2, wherein the end face of the endportion of the core material has a shape conforming to the internalsurface of the skin.
 4. The skin-fitted foam molding member according toclaim 1, wherein the seal portion is disposed in a vicinity of a tip endof the roll portion.